Absolute
by Trajectory of Simplicity
Summary: Piers smiled a smile that was two-thirds heartbreak and one-third freedom. "I'm glad for you." He meant it. He really did. Post-TLA. Pre-DD.


A/N: This was written in a style I'm not used to writing in, so it's experimental in a way, but also very meaningful to me. I hope you enjoy :)

Absolute

Piers steered his ship toward the beach, the hull cutting cleanly through the water. He was careful; the waters around Loho tended to be a bit rocky. But he had navigated through this particular harbor so many times during the last twenty years, he was confident he could get to shore with his eyes closed. The ship glided smoothly in the water until, slowly, it rose above the waves, water dripping off the hull like diamonds sparkling in the sun, wings spread wide against the blue sky.

The captain leaned over the railing to watch the ship's shadow crawl over the shimmering waves and across the sandy beach, getting smaller and smaller as the ship climbed higher and higher into the sky. Piers never really liked flying; it was too smooth and too controlled. He preferred the gentle rocking of the ship against the waves and the sound of water slapping against the sturdy wood. When the ship was in the water, sailing was a playful game, or a dance. The ship was the leader and the ocean was its blushing bride. Piers loved that sensation. The sea was home to him, not the sky, and that's how it will always be.

After all, it was the sea that brought him and his companions together: a lucky tidal wave, pirates with hearts of gold, a Psynergetic ship. It was on the sea when Sheba got seasick, when Jenna burned a hole in the wall out of boredom, when Felix whispered quiet fears in the darkness.

Piers hadn't visited Vale in a long time. He thought of Isaac, Jenna, and Garet who stayed with their hometown and his heart clenched a little in his throat.

Across the rolling hills, Piers could see the tiny village of Vale. It was surrounded by rock formations that hadn't been there the last time he visited and Piers was of the opinion that the citizens will leave within the next five years. The ground where Mt. Aleph once proudly stood was constantly accosted by tremors, both large and small, shaping the landscape into one difficult to settle on. It was a sad thought, but the citizens of the tiny village knew that the little spot they had called home for millennia was a place they will one day have to let go.

As he approached the tiny hamlet, Piers slowed his ship down, dropping in altitude and aiming for a leveled spot on the ground that he might land. Touching the earth softly and without incident, Piers jumped off the ship and stumbled a bit. It always took him a while to regain his bearings on land. He glanced back at the ship and wondered if it would be easier to leave.

It would, Piers knew. He headed toward the village anyway.

Each step he took was agonizing in its slowness. The earth was too solid, too material. His heart was heavy and anxious. Almost every fiber of his being told him to run away, back to the ocean where the unpredictable currents and spastic weather carried away all of his doubts and regrets. Back to the ocean where the sea spray washed away the sickness in his heart.

The Valeans all knew him. How could they not when he was the precious comrade of their darling Jenna? He was the sailor who helped Felix in his treacherous journey across the seas, who supported his friends in times of distress and danger. He was as much a part of them as their dear heroes were; a powerful warrior, a living legend.

He greeted them all, wondering if maybe this could have been his life. Greeting neighbors every day. Having a home. A family. If he had summoned just a little bit of courage. If he had tried just a little bit harder.

"Hello, Piers!" one elder called. "It's been a while!"

Piers inclined his head respectfully. "It has. I'm glad to see you're doing well, Matthias."

"You, too, young whippersnapper! Now, tell me, what brings you to our humble little village?" Matthias stopped and thought for a bit. "Ah, you're probably here to visit Jenna."

Piers simply smiled. "You know me."

"She's a beauty, that she is, but she's married! Don't be stealing her away, you hear?"

Piers cocked an eyebrow, amused. "Have more faith in me, Matthias."

"Oh, I have faith, Piers. I have more faith than most people would care to admit. Jenna's a good lass. Even if you were to put the moves on her, she'd be quick to fry you with her Psynergy."

Piers barked in laughter. "Too true!"

"Well, I don't want to keep you from your business, but make sure you stop by my house before you leave! My wife's been itching to whip up some of her famous apple pie!"

"I will." Though Piers doubted he'd remember. He went on his way.

Every step closer to his destination became more belabored, more uncertain. And, finally, when those last harrowing steps brought him to his destination, Piers stopped. He stared at the oaken door in front of him. He couldn't quite believe that he was here now. In Vale. In front of that door. From beyond the wooden frame, he can hear the sounds of silverware and humming. He took a few deep breaths. In. Out. In. Out. He was ready. He could do this.

He knocked. The door pulled open.

He wasn't ready at all.

It was Jenna. Piers felt something catch in his throat at the sight of her. She was exactly as he remembered her: auburn hair, fiery eyes, slender build, and a whole head shorter than he. Her smile was bright and her face was aglow. She was stunning. Stunning in the way the moon was stunning; in the way the Karagol Sea reflected the sunrise. Piers let out a breath he didn't know he was holding.

Her face lit up when she saw him. "Piers!" She didn't hesitate to throw her arms around him. He folded over her like an envelope, burying his face in her hair, inhaling the faint scent of cinnamon and vanilla that was so familiar it hurt.

"I can't believe you're here!" she said, face buried in his chest. She pulled away to beam up at him. "You should have sent word that you were coming!"

Piers smiled back, feeling just a little bit overwhelmed. "I wanted to surprise you."

She invited him in, apologizing for the mess, excited by his presence. She immediately sat him down in their living room and offered tea.

"It's too bad you came by when Matthew's taking a nap. He could've used a playmate! Garet and Tyrell are off in another father-son bonding trip, which really means they're off making mischief and burning stuff to the ground, but you know them! Overly excited and too much to handle!" Jenna laughed at that. Piers joined her. Her laugh never changed, even after all these years. It was still high and full and unrestrained and left Piers feeling a little bit better about coming.

"So, what brings you here?" she asked after the mirth died down, eyes alight with affection.

"I just thought I'd visit," Piers replied,simply, taking a sip from his cup. He wondered briefly if she noticed that his hands were shaking. "I haven't stopped by in a while."

"No kidding! Last time you came was when Matthew was born and that was nearly six years ago." Jenna lightly punched him in the shoulder. "You should've at least sent a pigeon now and then."

"Is that what Felix does?"

There was a shadow on her face for such a fleeting moment that Piers wondered if maybe he was just seeing things. "No. But that's just him. I miss him a lot, of course; he's my brother after all. But I know he's helping the world right now in whatever way he can. Weyard's been changing drastically, I'm sure you know. New kingdoms are popping up around those newly discovered Alchemic Devices. Felix has to do everything he can to help make the transition easier."

Piers nodded to Jenna's words. He could see it in the stiff way she pulled at her ponytail. There was a hole in her heart that only a brother can fill, Piers understood, but she couldn't admit it because she was supposed to be _happy _now. The Fire Adept turned her head toward the unlit hallway across the room. "But I guess what I'm really sad about is that Matthew can't see him very much. Felix adores my son. Piers, you should've seen the look on Felix's face when he held Matthew after I gave birth to him."

Piers did see it. He was there. He didn't want to remember, though, despite the rare, soft look of love in Felix's eyes. That was a difficult day for him. Jenna continued, her voice soft, "I make sure Matthew knows all about his Uncle Felix and how much he loves him."

Piers reached over to grab Jenna's hand. Her palm was soft and supple and fit nicely in his own. "Felix will be back. He always comes back."

Jenna's face lightened into a gentle smile. Piers couldn't help it. He smiled back. She did that to him. Maybe that's what a year of traveling across Weyard did to people. It hurts and pains and destroys you until that moment under the stars, surrounded by people you couldn't possible love any deeper, and you wonder how you ever lived life before that moment. "You're right, Piers. Of course you're right."

They sat there for a while, smiling at each other. The scary, clenching part of his heart quietly soothed into a dull ache.

"Mommy?"

Jenna immediately turned away from Piers to smile toward the unlit hallway. "Matty!"

Piers turned to look as well, and then immediately stopped. His heart was beating wildly in his chest. Six years old with bright eyes and yellow hair like sunshine. Jenna scooped him up in her arms and Piers was so entranced. Matthew looked like… He looked _just_ like…

The front door opened behind him and Jenna positively beamed. Piers froze.

"Isaac!"

The name hung like crystals over his head.

"I'm back."

That _voice_. Deep and strong. Like a tremor deep within the earth. Like boiling lava inside a mountain. Like music from a cave.

"Guess who came to visit!"

Piers didn't know if he could. He didn't think he could. Oh, gods, he _couldn't_.

Jenna beamed at him and jerked her head toward her husband. "Come on, weirdo, say something!"

He turned around.

"…Piers?!"

There he was. In front of him. In this galaxy. Isaac. _Isaac._

"Isaac." Piers said his name like a prayer upon his lips. It was honey, rolling off his tongue like song, like a sickly sweet serenade upon the shore. Isaac was _here_ and so was Piers. They were here together and Piers couldn't believe how saccharine the thought was to him.

Isaac's face turned from shock to absolute delight. A wide grin graced the Earth Adept's features. Piers immediately grasped at the strings of joy lining his brow, wondering how was it possible that nature could so carefully craft such a perfect creature.

"Piers, it's been too long!" Isaac stepped forward, his eyes bright and blue like the summer sky. He opened his arms and wrapped them around his friend. Piers melted into the embrace, an aching feeling like longing threatening to burst open his chest.

"Far too long," Piers mumbled against Isaac's shoulder.

A vivid memory of late nights under the stars, of ocean spray dampening golden hair, flashed through Piers's mind like an arrow. He remembered quiet whispers in his ear, a soft and warm presence lying contentedly beside him in the crow's nest as the ocean gently rocked the ship in an ancient lullaby.

Isaac pulled away. "What brings you here? Not that I'm not glad to see you or anything," Isaac immediately corrected, "I'm just so surprised!"

_I wanted to see you_, was what Piers almost said, but he stopped himself. "I thought it was about time I came to visit." Piers attempted a smile and the look on Isaac's face told him he succeeded.

He thought of calm leadership and gentle understanding.

"Piers, it's really great to see you." The sincerity in Isaac's voice left a lump in his throat. There was a stinging something deep in his chest that Piers was scared to touch, but every second in Isaac's presence was a sharp knife through his ribcage, driving the sting closer and closer to home. Piers wondered how long he might last underneath the suffocating sensations.

He thought of dark worry and deep despair when a golden-haired Earth Adept lay in his cabin bed, breathing shallowly, recovering from a grave injury. He thought of mile-wide grins in the midst of battles and of soft eyes smiling at him in the dark.

He thought of quiet, secret glances that were always meant for a certain auburn-haired Mars Adept and not him. Never him.

_I shouldn't be here._ The thought was like lightning in its intensity. It rang through his head clear as bells and shook him deep to the core. He wanted to shake the thought from his head immediately, but thoughts once conceived couldn't be _un_thought. Piers was left to his misery. He wanted to be in the ocean, inviting and dangerous and beautiful. He didn't belong on land. Not anymore.

_Piers, you will always be my friend…_

_I should leave._ He didn't even know that he said it aloud until, immediately, his friends' smiles turned into concerned frowns.

"But you just got here!" Jenna protested.

"At least stay for dinner," Isaac insisted.

Piers wanted to say no. He wanted…

Isaac's hand found its way onto his shoulder and his blue eyes searched Piers's own. "Stay for a bit. We've missed you." Piers was lost.

He stayed.

In the morning, he woke up to the sound of footsteps in the kitchen. It was Isaac. Piers didn't know whether to be elated or nervous. He approached him.

"Good morning, Isaac."

"Morning to you, too, Piers. How would you like eggs for breakfast? Jenna's the one who usually cooks, but I thought I might try to give her a little break today."

Piers's smile was tight, pinched. "You truly love her, don't you?"

Isaac's cheeks tinged red a little, his expression soft. "Of course I do. She's the one I traveled the world for."

Piers has heard this before. Many times. It never got easier.

"She's the one I married," the Earth Adept continued, his expression soft as he fried the eggs on the pan. "You'd think that with all the time we spent together, I'd have gotten tired of her, but I never thought that way. Every day is an adventure with her."

The egg sizzled on the pan and Isaac smiled in that way that made Piers's chest ache. "I think that with each day that passes, I fall just a little bit deeper in love." Isaac turns to shoot Piers a blinding grin that leaves him breathless. "And then she gave me Matthew." The Earth Adept's grin changed into something else. Something Piers had never seen before.

"They're my whole world."

And at that moment, Piers knew. And it was like the sun setting behind the distant mountains, like stars popping up in the darkness, one by one. Like a monochrome dream fading into rainbows. Piers smiled a smile that was two-thirds heartbreak and one-third freedom.

"I'm glad for you." And he meant it. He really did.

* * *

><p>Piers left before Isaac finished breakfast. He jumped onto his ship, flew over the mountains, and returned to the ocean. There, the ship danced with the playful waves as clouds rolled overhead and blocked the sun.<p>

That's okay, Piers thought. The sun will always be there.

He sailed toward the horizon and did not look back.


End file.
